


Heading to Bed

by ericsonclan



Series: OG World [9]
Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-03-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:54:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23338729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ericsonclan/pseuds/ericsonclan
Summary: Clementine and Louis get ready to sleep and talk about the adjustments they've made with the loss of Clem's leg and Louis' added responsibilities.
Relationships: Clementine/Louis (Walking Dead: Done Running)
Series: OG World [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1815361
Kudos: 40





	Heading to Bed

**Author's Note:**

> I love these two so much <3  
> (by Laura)

“Home at last,” Clementine exclaimed as she and Louis strolled into their room as night deepened outside the window. With a deep sigh, she collapsed spread eagled on the bed. Louis laughed as he looked down at her.

“Not wasting any time, I see,”

“You know it. Now, if I could just muster the strength to get this off…” Clem lazily shifted her stump, her prosthetic dangling precariously on the edge of the bed.

“Allow me the honor,” Louis lifted both her legs to place them in his lap as he took a seat on the bed. Bending over, he began the process of undoing the leather straps that kept it in place. As he eased the limb off, Clementine let out a soft hiss of pain. Louis shot her a concerned glance.

“Is it sore?”

“Very. It’s been a while since I kept it on that long,” Usually, Clementine split up her time between the crutches and the prosthetic as she tried to build up endurance. Today had been her first attempt at hunting though, so she had needed to keep the prosthetic on for most of the day while she was outside the walls. Overall it had been a successful outing, with four rabbits and a squirrel caught between archery and the traps. She was glad she had chosen to go with Aasim. Though Louis had been instrumental in giving her the encouragement and support needed to get back on her feet, she was sure hunting with him would have been a complete nightmare, with him hovering behind her and cheering her on with every step when silence was needed to hunt prey. Aasim had kept a respectable, detached attitude throughout the trip, giving Clementine her space, but being close enough that on the few occasions when she stumbled he was there to break her fall.

Of course, AJ had wanted to tag along as well to protect her, but Clementine had stringently objected. She couldn’t have the stress of keeping an eye on AJ and figuring out how to hunt again for the first time, no matter how capable the 6 year old was. Neither Louis or A.J. was happy with the arrangement, but they respected her wishes. As soon as she and Aasim were in sight of the school, both boys had barreled out of the gates and literally carried her back into the front yard. She doubted they had gotten much of anything done while she was gone. They’d hovered over her incessantly throughout dinner, asking her questions on what she and Aasim had done and seen in excruciating detail.

Once dinner was over, Ruby had mercifully pulled A.J. away for a while, asking him to help her with something in the greenhouse. Clem had given her a grateful smile then headed toward the dorms with Louis, using all of her willpower to keep from limping as they made their way inside. Now that the day was done, Clementine could finally bask in the pride of a job well done. Things couldn’t have gone better. Now she was home in the comfort of her bed with her boyfriend gently massaging the blood flow back into her leg.

A sudden stabbing pain up her leg caused Clementine to gasp.

“Sorry, sorry!” Louis exclaimed, pulling his hands back. “Was that too hard? I can stop,”

“No, it’s OK. It’s just more tender than usual. It still feels good,”

Hesitantly, Louis reached for her leg again and began to gently massage around the base, thumbs rolling soft circles into her aching stump. Clem moaned appreciatively.  
“Yeah, right there. That’s sooo much better,”

“Y’know, I’ve become quite good at this if I do say so myself,” Louis smirked playfully at Clementine. “It must be because I’m so talented with my fingers,” It took a second for his own words to sink in. “Oh shit, wait, not like that! I meant because of my piano playing…” He lowered his face in shame, hiding behind his dreadlocks.

Clem giggled. “Smooth, Louis. Very smooth,”

After the awkwardness had faded, they settled into a comfortable silence, Louis continuing to absentmindedly rub Clementine’s leg as she lay with eyes closed, savoring the moment. She felt like she could drift off to sleep at any second, but she didn’t want to quite yet. She wanted to spend more time with Louis. “So…” she began, “What did you do today?”

“Ah, nothing too interesting. A.J. and I did patrol together and checked the wall for any weak points. Then I spent some time with Violet tanning some of the rabbit hides. I know they’re great for keeping warm in the winter, but man do those things stink!”

“Yeah, I don’t envy you that job,” Clementine had been stuck doing inside work for the last several months as her leg had healed. Though she and Violet had found ways to keep themselves entertained in spite of the mind-numbing tasks, Clementine had felt the boredom slowly eating away at her soul. Who knew that homemaking could feel worse that living on the road?

“Anyway, after that Ruby had me haul a ton of water from the creek since ever since we started doing laundry she’s convinced it must be a weekly task,”

“You have to admit, there haven’t been any more lice outbreaks since she started her cleaning regimen,”

Louis shuddered. “Don’t remind me,”

“So that was it then?”

“Well, once I finished with the water I tried to sneak off to get some music time in, but Omar cornered me by the tables and had me chopping veggies for dinner. A.J. helped out since he was waiting for you to come home. We finished prep shortly before you returned and you know the rest up until this very moment,”

“Sounds like quite the day,”

“That it was. Thank God I’m usually much better at shirking than today would suggest,” He lifted her right leg to remove her boot, then began to massage her foot, humming a little tune to himself as he continued.

Clementine watched him thoughtfully. Despite Louis’ well-known history of avoiding work, when she thought back on the last few days, he’d really been running himself ragged. Hell, she couldn’t think of a time in the past couple months when she’d seen him slacking off, except for stolen moments with her. When she had arrived at Ericson, Louis would spend hours at the piano every day, practicing or composing to his heart’s content. But thinking over the last week, Clementine couldn’t remember if she’d even heard the piano being played. Pushing herself up into a sitting position, she reached forward to brush Louis’ dreadlocks away from his face.

“Something wrong?” She could see that the area under his eyes had darkened, and there were stress lines around the corners of his eyes as well. How long had those been there?

“Are you eating OK? Sleeping?”

Louis chuckled. “Wow, are those maternal instincts turning on me since A.J. is out of the room? Relax, I’m fine,”

Clementine gave him her best unconvinced staredown. Louis squirmed under her eyes.

“You know it’s not bad to take time for yourself. No one would fault you for setting aside some time to practice your music,”

“I know… but there’s just so much to be done around here, what with hunting for food and checking the walls and prepping for meals…”

“There is such a thing as asking for help,”

“Nah, that wouldn’t be right. Everyone’s pulling their weight around here. No reason I shouldn’t do the same,”

“Louis!” Clementine exclaimed, taking his face in her hands. “Look at you! You’re worn out! Clearly you’ve been going above and beyond lately. There’s no reason to feel guilty!”

Louis wouldn’t look at her. Instead his eyes were trained on the bed, as if afraid to meet her eyes.

“What is it?”

“I didn’t get hurt,”

“That night, when we attacked the raiders’ ship… I didn’t get hurt. Violet did. You did. And every time I think back to what happened that night…” He choked on his words, tears beginning to run down his face.

“Louis…” Clementine gently brushed the tears aside, but more came. “Louis, none of that is your fault. You couldn’t have prevented what happened. And Violet and I – we’re fine! I mean, sure, things are different, but that hasn’t stopped us from doing what needs to be done. I mean, I went hunting today. I can take outside shifts again. It doesn’t always have to be you and Aasim.

“No,” Louis shook his head firmly. “No, I don’t want you to take that on!”

“Louis, I like hunting,”

“No, I can’t take it! I couldn’t focus on anything today – not patrol or the rabbit hides or those stupid veggies! All I could think about was you outside the walls and how the last time I left you outside-”

He was breathing too hard, his breath coming out in short, tight gasps. Clementine wasn’t sure what to do. Desperately, she wrapped him in her arms, holding him tightly. Louis buried his face against her neck and Clem ran her hand up and down his back, trying to calm him down. She wasn’t sure how many minutes it took, but finally Louis’ breathing slowed and he went slack against her, body limp. Clementine ran her fingers gently through his hair.

“I won’t do anything stupid that’ll get me killed. You know me. I could never do that to A.J. or to you,”

“It doesn’t have to be stupid to get you killed,” Louis murmured. “Mitch died saving Tenn. Tenn died ‘cause he couldn’t turn his back on Minnie. Marlon died….” He sighed shakily. “Things are different than the days where I used to while away the hours in the music room. It was wrong of me to waste time back then. It’d be even worse doing it now,”

Clementine sighed in exasperation and pushed Louis back from her. She took his chin in one hand so he would look her in the eyes. “Louis, I love you, but you’re being a fool right now,”

Louis’ brow quirked in confusion.

“Listen to you! How can you talk about music this way, like it’s nothing? Music is your passion. I don’t want you to give that up for anything,” She reached down and took his hands in her own. “I hear what you’re saying. We lost so many people back then in those days and things did change. But we’re a family, Louis! We all look out for each other! Not a single one of us would want our happiness to come at the cost of yours. When Violet and I were hurt, you carried us through that time. Now it’s our turn, OK?”

Louis mutely nodded.

“OK?”

“OK, OK!” Louis looked up at her, his eyes still wet, but calm now. Warm. “Clem…. You’re amazing,”

Clem smiled, leaning forward to place a soft kiss on his lips. “You are too,” She wrapped her arms around him once more, pulling him toward her until they had both collapsed on the bed. She inched forward until her nose was brushing against his. “This is what we’re going to do. Tomorrow, you and I are going to the music room. And we’re going to spend the entire morning in there. We’ll lock the door so no one can bother us and then you can play me that song you wrote me. Or try to teach me how to play again – that is, if you have the patience,”

“I would love that,” Louis whispered.

Clementine reached out to grab Louis’ arm, draping it over her waist, pulling him closer. He was so warm and she was so tired. It wouldn’t be long till she was asleep. She looked into Louis’ eyes, so close to her own.

“Promise me something?”

“Mm?”

“Promise me that you’ll tell me next time you’re feeling worn out. I count on you for so much. I want you to count on me too,”

Louis was quiet for a moment. Then he nodded. “I promise,”

“Good. Love you,”

“Love you too,” Louis breathed, resting his forehead against hers. After a few minutes in each others’ warm embrace, sleep overcame the couple and they both took their well-deserved rest.


End file.
